WASHINGTON – Iraq’s security forces will be unable to take control of the country in the next 18 months, and Baghdad’s national police force is so rife with corruption it should be scrapped entirely, according to a new independent assessment.

The study, led by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, is a sweeping and detailed look at Iraq’s security forces that will factor heavily into Congress’ upcoming debate on the war. Republicans see success by the Iraqi forces as critical to bringing U.S. troops home, while an increasing number of Democrats say the U.S. should stop training and equipping such units altogether.

The 20-member panel of mostly retired senior military and police officers concludes that Iraq’s military, in particular its Army, shows the most promise of becoming a viable, independent security force with time. But the group predicts an adequate logistics system to support these ground forces is at least another two years away.

The report also offers a scathing assessment of Baghdad’s Ministry of Interior and recommends scrapping Iraq’s national police force, which it describes as dysfunctional and infiltrated by militias.

These units “have the potential to help reduce sectarian violence, but ultimately the (Iraq Security Force) will reflect the society from which they are drawn,” according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “Political reconciliation is the key to ending sectarian violence in Iraq.”

Sen. Craig vows to stay if he can withdraw his plea

WASHINGTON (AP) – To the dismay of fellow Republicans, Sen. Larry Craig launched a campaign to save his seat on Wednesday, seeking dismissal of an ethics committee complaint and vowing to stay in office if he can withdraw his guilty plea in a men’s room sex sting.

Craig’s decision to deploy his legal team marked a reversal of his pledge to resign on Sept. 30, and raised the possibility of a protracted legal and political struggle, much of it playing out in public, with gay sex at its core.

“I thought he made the correct decision, the difficult but correct decision to resign” over the weekend, said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after he and Craig spoke by telephone. “That would still be my view today.”

McConnell said Craig had told him he now intended to remain in Congress if he is permitted to withdraw his guilty plea by Sept. 30. “If he is unable to have that disposed of prior to Sept. 30, it is his intention to resign from the Senate as he expressed last Saturday,” he added.

Ohio Rep. Gillmor found dead in his apartment

WASHINGTON – Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor, a Republican whose political career covered four decades, has died, party officials said.

“Born, raised and educated in our home state of Ohio, Paul never lost sight of the reason he came to Congress – to serve this great institution and his constituents with dedication and distinction,” House Republican Leader John Boehner, also of Ohio, said in a statement.

“With the passing of Paul Gillmor, the people of northwest Ohio have lost a favorite son,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, R-Fla.

The body of the 68-year-old congressman was found by staff members who went to his apartment Wednesday after he failed to show up for work, according to a Republican aide who spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.There was no immediate word on the cause of his death.

Gillmor’s office did not respond to a reporter’s call.

Gillmor had been in Ohio last week to attend a series of town meetings and tour areas of the state that were hit hard by flooding.”His sudden passing is a shock to us all and he will be greatly missed,” Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted said in a statement.

Halle Berry pregnant with her first child

LOS ANGELES – Halle Berry is expecting her first child. The 41-year-old Academy Award-winning actress told the TV show “Access Hollywood” that she’s three months’ pregnant. She identified the father as boyfriend Gabriel Aubry.

“Gabriel and I are beyond excited, and I’ve waited a long time for this moment in life. Now the next seven months will be the longest of my life!” Berry wrote in an e-mail.

Berry and Aubry, a model, met in November 2005, the show said.

Calls to Berry’s manager, Vince Cirrincione, were not immediately returned.

Berry won the best-actress Oscar for 2001’s “Monster’s Ball.” She also won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for 1999’s “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.”

Apple slashes the price of iPhone by $200

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Apple Inc. slashed the price of the iPhone by $200 Wednesday – a rare move for the company that typically discounts only older products. It also updated its iPod media players, introducing a model with a touch-screen and other iPhone features.

The 8-gigabyte iPhone will be $399 – $200 cheaper than the same model when it went on sale in June. The 4-gigabyte iPhone, which sold for $399, will be phased out. By comparison, the new touch-screen iPods will start at $299.

Analysts said the price drop would definitely boost sales, possibly allowing Apple to achieve its self-proclaimed goal of selling 1 million iPhones by the end of September.

Rev. D. James Kennedy, church pioneer, dies at 76

MIAMI – The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Kennedy died at his home in Fort Lauderdale from complications of a heart attack he suffered on Dec. 28, according to Kristin Cole, a spokeswoman for Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

He had not been seen publicly since the heart attack, and his retirement was announced Aug. 26.

Kennedy’s voice and face were known to millions through radio and television broadcasts, urging Christians to evangelize in their daily lives, while condemning homosexuality and abortion as assaults on the traditional family. His also preached on the major policy issues of the day, rejecting evolution and global warming.